The government of Ekiti State has urged the Aposo and Aladegbohungbe families of Iyin and Ado Ekiti, respectively, to end their feud over land that had been acquired by the government in 1981 to build the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti.
The land in dispute measures 3,700 hectares, and the state government has insisted that the families no longer own it. The government gave this warning during an intervention with the feuding families, who have been at loggerheads since 2017.
The Aposo family had previously raised concerns over encroachment on their land by landowners from Ado Ekiti, which spurred the intervention from the state government.
Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Monisade Afuye, advised that both families should write to the government for compensation rather than continuing to engage in the feud.
She reminded them that the land under dispute had been acquired by the government to build the EKSU, and as such, neither group can claim ownership of the land.
“When government acquires any land in public interest, no individual, group, or family can claim ownership again. They can only write to the government for compensation if they have not been paid.
“To those of you who have not been paid, you can collate your names and write to the Bureau of Lands for financial compensation rather than fighting over a land you have no control over again,” the Deputy Governor reiterated.
The Surveyor General of Ekiti State, Mr. Adebayo Faleto, corroborated the Deputy Governor’s statement, noting that three communities of Ado, Iworoko, and Iyin Ekiti donated lands in the area to the government in 1981 to build the educational facility. Faleto added that only the Bureau of Lands could confirm whether compensations had been paid to the affected landowners or not.
While the Aposo and Aladegbohungbe families are currently in court over the matter, both sides have promised to cooperate with the government to resolve the land tussle amicably.
